Cutting bar height measuring instrument



June 22, 1954 G. FLANSAAS CUTTING BAR HEIGHT MEASURING INSTRUMENT Filed Feb. 14. 1951 Albert 6. F/ansaas INVENTOR.

Patented June 22, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CUTTING BAR HEIGHT MEASURING INSTRUMENT 1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in depth gauges and the primary ob ject of the present invention is to provide a device for determining the height of a cutter bar of an agricultural machine.

Another important object of the present vention is to provide a cutting bar height measuring instrument that is quickly and readily applied to the conventional cutter bar support of a farm implement to be raised and lowered with the support to indicate the height of the cutter bar.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cutting bar height measuring instrument that may be conveniently observed by the operator of the machine to which an adjustable cutter bar support is applied without interfering with the normal structure of the machine.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a device of the aforementioned character that is extremely simple and practical in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and install, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an agricultural machine and showing the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 4-4 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 5--5 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein, for the purpose of illustration, there is dis closed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral l0 represents a conventional and well known agricultural machine including a cutter bar support l2 that is operatively connected to the lift mechanism l4 of the machine whereby the cutter bar It may be selectively raised or lowered.

The present invention does not attempt to claim the foregoing well known machine but is merely an attachment therefor whereby the height of the cutter bar It may be readily and conveniently determined. Furthermore, the present invention is not to be limited to that type of machine shown, inasmuch as the invention is adaptable to any agricultural machine having a cutting object, either over or under ground, whose height is adjusted by touch controls.

To accomplish the desired results, there is provided an elongated ruler or graduated bar 18 having a plurality of spaced parallel horizontal lines 2!! with indicia, such as numerals, on the lines as shown in Figure 3. The lower end of the bar [8 is detachably secured to the rear wall or portion 22 of the support [2 by a bracket 24.

A U-shaped lower guide 2E is detachably secured to the operators platform 28 of the machine Hi and slidably receives the upstanding bar IS. The railing 36 of the platform 28 supports an upper, removable, U-shaped guide 32 that also slidably receives the bar I8. The upper flat surface of the railing 30 will register with a selected line 20 to indicate to the machine operator the height of the cutter bar as the bar It will be raised or lowered with the support I2.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

In an agricultural machine including a lift mechanism and a cutting edge support attached to the lift mechanism and having a rear wall, a vertically disposed ruler, a substantially Z-shaped bracket having a depending flange secured to said rear wall and an upstanding flange secured to the lower end of the ruler, said machine having an operators platform and a guard railing therefor, a lower guide secured to the platform slidably receiving said ruler, said railing having an upper flat surface forming an index means for the graduations on said ruler.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 357,880 Walsh Feb. 15, 1887 1,501,621 Ronning et a1 July 15, 1924 2,170,573 Pierson Aug. 22, 1939 2,292,958 Millard et a1 Aug. 11, 1942 2,318,409 Millard et al. May 4, 1943 2,528,041 Davis Oct. 31, 1950 

